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The links on this page focus on musicians who were born in the Chicago area or spent significant periods of their careers here. As part of the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago Library, CJA's mission is jazz research rather than marketing, so this page concentrates on jazz musician sites that have significant info of interest to researchers -- bios, interviews, discographies, lists of compositions, etc.

At the bottom of this page are links to more jazz musician bios, information, and interviews.

Chicago Musicians: If you have a website that is essentially your online press kit -- has a bio, discography, list of compositions, interviews, articles about you, etc. -- and you're not here, send your URL to debjazz at uchicago.edu so we can add you! And while you're at it, send us a print press kit if you've got one, at the address on the CJA homepage. Help CJA keep Chicago's jazz musicians from dropping through the cracks of history!

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Sites about the history of the Chicago jazz scene and musicians

Chicago Artist webpages from ChicagoJazz.com

The Chicago scene and musicians 1940-1960 and Chicago record label histories, courtesy of the Red Saunders Research Foundation (hereafter RSRF)

Info and interviews with many Chicago free jazz musicians from ImproJazz (in French)

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Chicago Jazz Musicians

A-B C-D-E F-G-H I-J-K L-M-N O-P-Q R-S T-U-V-W

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A-B

Muhal Richard Abrams

Ray Anderson

Tatsu Aoki

Tom Archia (RSRF)

Louis Armstrong

• Louis Armstrong House Museum and research collections
  
• Louis Armstrong in Ghana 1956: a discussion of Robert Raymond's BLACK STAR IN THE WIND
  

The Art Ensemble of Chicago

Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

• Chicago
• New York

Patricia Barber

Bix Beiderbecke

• Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society and Jazz Festival
• There are programs about Bix Beiderbecke searchable on Jim Cullum's Riverwalk site

  Buster "Leap Frog" Bennett (RSRF)

  Mwata Bowden is Director of the University of Chicago's Jazz Xtet

  Lester Bowie See also Art Ensemble of Chicago
  

  • AACM Chicago bio
  • inteview by Lazaro Vega

  Anthony Braxton

  Ari Brown

  Oscar Brown Jr.

  C-D-E

  Wilbur Campbell

  Chicago Jazz Ensemble

  Bobby Christian

  Jimmy Coe (RSRF)

  Kelan Phil Cohran

  Eddie Condon

  Rich Corpolongo

  Orbert Davis

  Richard Davis homepage and interview by Ted Panken

  Hell Divin' Women a film with interview footage of Tiny Davis and Ruby Lucas. Members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, when they retired to Chicago, they opened a club called "Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot."

  Ernest Dawkins and his ensembles

  Tommy Dean (RSRF)

  Ethnic Heritage Ensemble

  Kurt Elling

  Bill Evans (pianist)

  Doc Evans Tribute site by Doc's son.

  F-G-H

  Joyce Faison
  Malachi Favors Maghostut
  
  • Bio from the Art Ensemble of Chicago website
  • Ted Panken's interview of Malachi Favors and Lester Bowie, Nov. 22, 1994 on WKCR-FM, NYC.
  • Fred Jung's interview of Malachi

  King Fleming (RSRF)

  Vernel Fournier from Drummerworld

  Von Freeman

  Benny Goodman

  • Official website for the Benny Goodman Estate

  • American Masters article and Biography from PBS

    Profile and interview from BBC Radio3

  Bunky Green

  Eddie Harris

  I-J-K

  Franz Jackson

  Joseph Jarman
  See also Art Ensemble of Chicago

  • interview by Jason Gross
  • inteview by Fred Jung

  Eddie Johnson (RSRF)

  Henry Johnson and the Organ Express

  Willie Jones (RSRF)

  Kathy Kelly

  William Little a/k/a King Kolax (RSRF)

  Gene Krupa sites:
  

  • Drummerman
    
  • Photos from Drummerworld
    
  • Gene's page on Red Hot Jazz
    
  • Gene Krupa Reference Page courtesy of Joseph Pagano

  L-M-N

  George Lewis

  Ramsey Lewis

  Oett "Sax" Mallard (RSRF)

  Claude McLin Jr. (RSRF)

  Marian McPartland

  • Bio from NPR

  • AAJ's Feature on Marian

  Mezz Mezzrow

  Mark Moultrup

  Famoudou Don Moye

  Ken Nordine's WordJazz site

  O-P-Q

  The Original Salty Dogs Jazz Band

  Bethany Pickens

  R-S

  "Ma" Rainey

  William Russo

  • Les Tomkins' 1962 interview of William Russo In four parts
    
  • Columbia College oral history of William Russo
    

  Theodore Dudley "Red" Saunders (RSRF)

  Interview with Wadada Leo Smith

  Ira Sullivan

  Sun Ra

  • interview with Sun Ra by Francis Davis

  • 1989 A Records press kit bio of Sun Ra from El Ra Records, the Sun Ra Arkestra's website

  T-U-V-W

  Thelma Terry

  Clark Terry

  • Steve Voce interviews Clark Terry for the JIC Jazzgram: Part 1 and Part 2

  • Gary Giddins interviews Clark Terry Nov. 28, 2004 at Artists House Music

  • Kevin Kniestedt interviews Clark Terry on KPLU, Jan. 24, 2007

NPR Jazz Profile: Mel Torme

Ken Vandermark

Joe Williams speaks about being a jazz role model at Gallery41

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More Musician Bios/Info/Interviews

100 Jazz Profiles from BBC Radio3

Interviews from All About Jazz

Asian Improv Artist Pages

American Masters from PBS

Downbeat magazine's Artist Pages and Archives

Drummerworld

Jazz Ambassador bios from the Kennedy Center

Jazz Corner's musician interviews

Artist Links from Jazzitude

Interviews from the Jazz Journalists Association

Jazz musician bios from PBS

Interviews from Jerry Jazz Musician

Red Hot Jazz: Bands and Musicians 1895-1929

Riverwalk's "Learn" pages

Women in Jazz

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